The Toronto Maple Leafs may have been eliminated from the Stanley Cup Playoffs in blundering manner, but don't expect a major offseason move involving any of its key players. During his media availability this week, Maple Leafs President Brendan Shanahan was keen to remind out that the team is dedicated to the core and will see this through.
"We are going to do this in Toronto, with this group. There'll be changes that are made, there'll be tweaks along the way, the team will evolve, the people will evolve. But we are going to get this done. I'll say this about our top four (forwards). Any team in the league would want them, but we like them, we want to keep them here. There's a killer instinct that is missing that we need to address. We have to really be honest with ourselves. We have to support our players and help them get over that hump."
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Zach Bogosian, Wayne Simmonds, and Nick Foligno were intended to be the killer instinct, but it didn't work out. The Maple Leafs had the Montreal Canadiens on the ropes with a 3-1 lead but were unable to reduce the gap. Auston Matthews and Mitch Marner were both shut down in a big way, and John Tavares was in the press box watching it all happen. While there's no time for excuses, the Leafs' captain's absence was a major setback since he helps give depth at centre and a chance to break away from their shut-down line.
Look for the Maple Leafs to do some tinkering this offseason, adding some more grit and sandpaper. Just don't expect to see Marner, Matthews, Tavares or William Nylander being dealt anytime soon.
